Dave – Page 8 – Ramsay Family Classics

Insomnia

Well we’re into day 3, and Charlotte is starting to settle into a rhythm. Unfortunately the rhythm appears to be: sleep all afternoon, party (read: whinge loudly) all night.

Welcome to insomniaville, population: Us.

This has meant that I have spent 2-3 hours of each of the last few nights wandering up and down the maternity ward corridors in the wee small hours trying to rock Charlotte back to sleep. She cries when you put her down, stops when you pick her up, settles and closes her eyes when you walk her for a little while, and then cries again as soon as you put her down again. I think it’s attention seeking, but either way it results in me needing panadol for breakfast, and a big afternoon nap…

But otherwise everything is going well, this morning we left the hospital and bought Charlotte home. We gave her the tour of her new home, introduced her to Jack, and watched her promptly fall back to sleep on the couch.

The other thing we have found since getting her home is that her cot is quite absurdly large for her, but I suppose she’ll grow into it (in a decade or two). Probably more photos will go up in a day or two.

Opportunities and challenges

News has just arrived that Charlton Heston (movie actor, and irrational champion of every American’s right to defend themselves with a military assault rifle or concealed hand gun) has died.

To me this means I can finally take him up on his challenge to pry his rifle from his cold, dead hands.

Ten fingers, ten toes, no worries

At 8:48 last night Charlotte Isabelle Ramsay made a rather undignified but otherwise uneventul entry into this world.

I was reading Carl Sagan’s book “Contact” recently and a short section towards the start describes things quite well I felt:

When they pulled her out, she was not crying at all. Her tiny brow was wrinkled, and then her eyes grew wide. She looked at the bright lights, the white and green clad figures, the woman lying on the table below her. On her face was an odd expression for a newborn – puzzlement perhaps.

She is rather cute, and both her and Simone are doing fine.

The all important vital statistics are: 2.34kg (5lb 2oz), 46cm length, 32cm head circumference.

Below, for your edification, are the first of what promises to be many many photos of her.

I was thinking before that she might need her own website, so I can to some extent separate my fatherly blubberings from my opinionated rantings, but that will be another task for another day. anyway, without further ado:

(Click on the thumbnails to see the larger versions of the photos)

Initially displeased at the reception:

But happier once we got her in some clothes:

Settling in well in grandad’s arms:

Happy with mum:

But showing contempt for her father (pull that tongue in missy)

That’s better:

Feeling contemplative (my favorite photo of her so far):

Feeling sleepy:

Waving hello:

And finally another shot with mum:

Unfolding events

As some of you may have already heard Simone has ended up with her blood pressure up over the weekend, and as a result she was admitted to hospital yesterday, and was induced last night.

She’s feeling fine and doing well, and we should have an outside kid in the next day or two.

More news (and photos) as they become available.

..and one little rant

It didn’t really fit into the science post, but another thing I found, which I can’t get past feeling is a really elegant solution to the creeping damp of expanding copyright and intellectual property privileges, is to ask the question “If IP Is Property, Where Is the Property Tax?“.

It would encourage works that are no longer financially lucrative to be un-licensed and un-copyrighted and thus pass into the public domain for the general benefit.

Science

Another collection of links to things of a (mainly) scientific bent:

A californian scientist has developed a photonic laser thruster for shifting small satellites around to maintain their orbits,, and which might, if scaled up, greatly reduce the time to get to other planets.

Google has teamed up with the X-Prize foundation (which offers large cash prizes to private individuals or organisations who complete certain space related challenges) to offer a $30 million prize for putting a robotic lander on the moon. So if you’re good with electronics and have some rocketeering mates, you can make yourself a few bob.

The computer hardware company MSI has developed a rather clever little CPU fan which powers itself with the heat from the CPU. So you don’t have to use more electricity to run the fan to dissipate the plentiful thermal energy that’s already there… (well I think it’s nifty anyway).

Wired has a page with what they think are 10 of the coolest chemistry experiment videos on the web. I like burning magnesium in a block of carbon dioxide.

Slashdot had a link to an article on Scientific American about mapping out which parts of the brain are active in the sensation of religious euphoria, and using this knowledge to simulate the experience in the lab. Interesting stuff and very controversial fuel for the argument between atheists and the faith.

Gators or rice?

It’s been raining a lot around here.

Enough that there have been a few days were people in our department have been late or completely unable to get to work due to surface flooding. Kind of the tropics’ answer to the snow day.

Anyway our back yard is getting pretty badly in need of a mow, but I don’t have any intention of pushing the lawn mower around in the current situation where underneath the tall grass is a layer of water about an inch deep.

I’m beginning to wonder if I need to be concerned about ‘gators appearing in our back yard swamp, or perhaps whether I should be capitalising on this and putting in a crop of rice or cotton…

Secret society

It’s like some kind of dirty little secret.

I was over at a party on saturday with some people from work (it was a ripper of a party, but I was working the following morning, so couldn’t get into it as much as perhaps I would have), and noted that they had the box set of West Wing under their TV. Turns out they are also huge fans (although unfortunately they’re more of the myriad mindless drones who think that Josh is the best character….) and I found yet more people who share my shameful love of intelligent political drama with substance and nuance and subtlety. Seems that they’re everywhere if you look hard enough, just usually not openly advertised. Something of a secret society of linguophiles and intelligencia joined by the common thread of Aaron Sorkin (and if you haven’t seen Charlie Wilson’s War yet you should do so. Now. Get a baby sitter. It’s on at a theatre somewhere near you right now. I’m sure).

The inclination

I was wondering the other day what it is that gives me such satisfaction in writing my blog (presumably it’s the false sense of connection and social involvement, believing that many more people are interested in my life enough to want to read about it than actually do (hi mum!)).

In the couple of years I have been intermittently doing this I have watched other members of my family and social group start (and usually fail to continue) blogs of various themes and styles.

Mum got one set up to allow her to wax lyrical about her quilts. As far as I’m aware she hasn’t written a single thing since the first entry I helped her with.

Other friends like Jeremy, Vic, and James and Telle write more frequently, in these cases I think because they have widely dispersed friends overseas, and seem to have interesting lives (travel and distraction wise) that is worth sharing.

Ultimately I just wish more people kept blogs up, because I like the opportunity to keep up with friends who I don’t necessarily have the time to phone and talk to as often as I would perhaps like…

Amnesia

Dear everyone. I haven’t forgotten you. It just seems that recently I have not been finding much exciting to write to you all about.

Simone’s belly is getting bigger, and consequently she is getting quite a bit more tired on average. The paradoxical flip side to the current stage of pregnancy is that despite reporting being regularly exhausted, she has started nesting with a passion, and has gone a fair way to re-organising the whole house. I suppose I can’t entirely comment however, having taken two trips to Bunnings in the last week, and having another one planned for this weekend.

The bump (or the parasite, depending on how generous we are feeling in out referring to it) continues to grow, to kick, to stretch, and occasionally to amuse us by doing unexpected things like hiccuping. Other than that it is, as far as we (and our obstetrician) can tell, doing all the normal things it should be doing.

I am quite enjoying my new job as an orthopaedic registrar, however I am finding it to be quite hard work. The hours are a bit longer than what I’ve done previously, and I’m having to spend most of my free time doing work related things, like presentations, study for exams and courses, and trying to fill the many and varied holes in my knowledge as it relates to the treatment and long term management of orthopaedic problems. Basically I am (in fitting with the old adage about all work and no play) becoming quite a dull boy. Hopefully it will ease up a bit after the current round of courses, but I still have to get some research and an application to the training program sorted, both of which are relatively large tasks.

So anyway. I will try and find things of interest to write about, and share a bit more of what I’m up to (although I will try not to talk too much about work, as I’m sure you all find it rather dull).